Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Third intifada?

Israeli prime minister 'Bibi' Netanyahu's refusal to negotiate an equitable two state solution has raised fears among the US chattering class of another intifida. These talking heads fear the worst: they shudder at the idea of a repeat of the violent second intifada with its suicide bombings, the loss of Israeli life [yet not the concern of Israeli state violence against the civilian Palestinian population; the mass arrest and long stays in military gaols, and the like].Yet unbeknownst to the talking heads who hog access to major media a third intifida is underway. A startling example is the breaching of barriers along the Syrian borders by Palestinian youth born in refugee camps who 'returned' ever so briefly to the land of their ancestors, marking 'naqba' day [15 May] commemorating the displacement of Palestinians by the Israeli military in 1948. Surely, a symbol action, yet one which foretells others.What escaped the Israeli obedient US media is that a campaign of passive resistance has been underway in the Israeli 43 years of occupying the West Bank which is the land of the future Palestine. Who in the US saw the award winning 'Badrus'? It tells of the passive resistance of the Palestinian village of Badrus that the Israeli separation wall would cut it off from its fields, meaning endless humiliation and harassment by the IDF in gaining use of agricultural land which would suffer from neglect owing to bureaucratic red tape, resulting in loss of livelihood, food, and ultimatelyillegal land seizure by the Zionist state. A campaign vigorously waged by the villagers, especially women, with sympathetic Israeli human rights activists prevailed and the path of the Wall was modified in Badrus' favour.Or the boycott of Israeli products sold on the West Bank, some of which produced on illegally grabbed and settled by Jewish colonists. Or better still the DBS worldwide movement calling for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Zionist state and its companies. DBS targets a wide variety of companies and product, such as Ahava, a maker of beauty products on the illegal settlement of Mitzpe Shalem in the West Bank. And then there are demonstrations outside major food chains selling Israeli produce, wines, and other products produced on illegal settlements in the West Bank.Another thing which has escaped the chatters notice, because it is the Palestinians and therefore hardly worth noting, is the patiently growing campaign of resisting passively the Israeli occupier. Taking a page out of Gandhi's and Martin Luther King's book, the movement is teaching techniques of non violence to achieve goals; to stress human rights and dignity; and to challenge illegal Israeli domination. And passive resistance means imprisonment, beatings, and yes death. History has shown that passive resistance breaks the chains of servitude, restores a sense of self and of nationhood, and the feeling that although the mills of justice grind slow they grind fine for the Palestinian people and the nation of Palestine.And what's more, it gains worldwide respect for it educates and eschews violence, thereby forcing the Zionist occupier to resort more and more to violence, itself an admission of impotence. Church groups have threatened divestment; some have, others have buckled under pressure and the fear of being labelled anti Semitic. Yet the campaign is spreading steady but slowly like the lava of a volcano that is erupting.The Zionist state understands this and like the French colons in Algeria would rather resort to war or military actions, such as 'Cast Lead', which won it global condemnation and a rebuke from the UN. Yet Israel remains as stubborn as Salah of Yemen. Sooner or later Israel will have to give ground, and this third intifida, as yet not recognised as such, will help in shaking the pillars of its arrogance and unfounded belief that it will always win. Remember its defeat in the last war with Lebanon!